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I’m stuck in for the day waiting for some work to get done on the house and I’m on call, which is generally a fun time to try and get some bits of cooking done in the quiet spells. I’ve already made up a batch of our pitta dough, so just need something to stuff in them. These are a really simple and tasty recipe, and go beautifully with a soy yoghurt and mint sauce…

I’ve made these as mini burgers to fit in the pittas, but they’ll work fine as full size!

Ingredients:

Makes 12 mini burgers

250g peeled sweet potato

1 400g tin of chickpeas (240g drained weight)

50g walnuts

25g pumpkin seeds

2 tbsps gram flour

Large pinch of salt

Steam or boil the sweet potato until soft. I did mine in a container in the microwave with a spot of water for 6 minutes

Roughly chop the walnuts and pumpkin seeds

Drain then mash the sweet potatoes and chickpeas together.

Stir through all the other ingredients

Heat a little oil in a frying pan

Place tablespoon sized dollops of the mixture into the pan

Cook until well browned on the underside ( about 5 minutes)

Then flip over and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more until that side has browned too

Fermented tofu (also called preserved bean curd) is a fascinating thing. We can usually only get it on trips to Asian supermarkets, but it’s always worth picking up a jar of this hugely flavoured foodstuff!
Fermenting the tofu changes it from its usual mild mannered flavour to an absolute powerhouse of strength and is very reminiscent of strong blue cheese.
I’m using it here with walnuts (as a side note just blend walnuts and fermented tofu together for a fantastic pate) to give crunch and a slight bitterness, carrots for more crunch and sweetness, and some leeks to provide an onion-y element without using onion directly.

about ready to eat

The recipe is simply itself, and the end result is very tasty.

When adding the potato flour start with less and add more until you get a slightly sticky dough that holds together well, but is still moist.
Makes 6 burgers:
3 carrots peeled
1 medium leek
40g walnuts
4 pieces fermented tofu
30g or more (see note above) potato flour
Salt or tamari if needed

Roughly chop the leek then place in a food processor and reduce to fine shreds, place in a microwaveable bowl, add a little oil or water, cover and heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until soft and translucent.
Roughly chop the carrots, then place in a food processor and blitz to a fairly fine consistency.
Add the carrots and leeks to a mixing bowl.
Add the walnuts and tofu to the food processor and blitz to form a chunky paste.
Combine with the vegetables.

Taste and add salt or tamari if required, the tofu is very salty.

Add the potato flour, starting with a few tablespoons, and mix until it forms a slightly sticky dough.

Lightly spray a large pan with oil and, on a medium heat, form the mix into 6 burgers and cook for about 5 minutes per side till browning and cooked through.
By A

I found myself in the mood for a quick and tasty burger, this really hits the mark, there is depth of flavour from the yeast extract and white miso, good crunch from the hazelnuts and they are really filling from the oats.. And they only take 5 minutes to assemble.

ready to serve

I’ve used more water than is strictly necessary, that’s because I wanted a thin burger and didn’t want it drying out, if you want to make thicker burgers then reduce the amount of water to 120ml.
Makes 5.

50g hazelnuts

150g mushrooms

50g soy flour

50g oats

150ml hot water

2tbsp sweet white miso

1tbsp gluten free yeast extract (I’m using the Meridian one)

1 tsp dried oregano

Half tsp dried basil

Salt to taste

Blitz the hazelnuts and mushrooms, I used the food processor attachment on my hand blender.

Mix with the flour and oats

Mix together all the other ingredients so the miso and yeast extract dissolve then add the solution to the dry mix and stir together well.

Leave for 10 minutes to let the oats absorb the liquid.

Divide into 5 large flat-ish patties and cook in a hot, oiled, pan until firmed up and nicely browned, it should take about 8 minutes a side.